


The Allies and Hope we find in Liminal Spaces

by StarlightDreamer21



Series: Allies and Hope [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Season/Series 03
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:03:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27194851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightDreamer21/pseuds/StarlightDreamer21
Summary: Sometime after Civil War, Natasha, Steve and Sam have made it back to the States and need to lay low for a couple weeks. Natasha knows a safe house but apparently, she isn’t the only one.AKA Natasha and Co. find Daisy, beaten and battered, at one of May’s secret safe houses. They patch her up and Natasha has a serious talk with Daisy about found family.
Relationships: Melinda May & Natasha Romanov, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Natasha Romanov & Skye | Daisy Johnson
Series: Allies and Hope [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112531
Comments: 16
Kudos: 185
Collections: Genuary 2021





	The Allies and Hope we find in Liminal Spaces

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a story that I originally thought of years ago but never wrote until now. While I didn't intend for it get so angsty, it just kind of happened and somehow I made myself cry so hopefully you like it!
> 
> This takes place after Season 3 and Captain America: Civil War while all parties are on the run (hence the title including liminal space which is used to identify transition spaces in life).

“How much further?”

Natasha rolled her eyes at Sam’s complaining. “We’ll get there quicker if you shut up.”

Sam grumbled, “We’ve been walking through the woods for an hour.”

Natasha came to a stop right at the edge of a clearing and motioned for both boys to be quiet. She slowly walked closer to the clearly and finally got a good glimpse at the cabin in front of her. There was a faint glow coming from behind one of the curtains. Someone was here. But who?

“Nat, is that the safe house. Why’d you stop?” Steve whispered behind her.

“Because someone is in there.”

“Didn’t you say this place is super secure and hidden? Secret passcodes, off the grid, only you and your friend knowing of its existence?” Steve asked skeptically. 

She had in fact said all of that. And she was under the impression that they were all true. She and May had agreed to never tell anyone else about the cabin unless it was an extreme emergency. Well, Natasha considered being a worldwide fugitive an emergency. But who could know about this place and be able to get inside besides May? Natasha’s gut was telling her to trust that whoever was inside had May’s trust but something still felt wrong about the situation.

“Nat?” Steve interrupted her thoughts, “what’s your plan?”

“Let’s go great our new house companion. Be alert, but I’m inclined to believe that whoever is in there isn’t an enemy.”

She heard Sam grumble some more behind her. If the situation was less tense she probably would have smacked him on the head by now but given the current circumstances she had bigger priorities.

They walked up to the cabin carefully and vigilantly. Natasha saw something move inside as a shadow passed behind the curtain. She put in the code, looked at Steve and nodded. He opened the door and they all had their weapons raised. 

On the other side of the door, a young woman dressed in all black greeted them with one arm raised while the other, which was clearly broken or fractured, was held protectively to her chest. They stood in silence until the girl finally said, “You’re the avengers.”

“Ex-avengers actually if you’ve seen the news,” Sam quipped, “who are you though?”

She rolled her eyes, “check the news. My face is on there just as much as all of yours.”

That’s when it finally clicked in Natasha’s mind. This was the girl. “You’re May’s newest protégé. Daisy, right?”

Daisy stiffened, “might as well call me Quake like the rest of the world.” Daisy finally lowered her arm as the three other guests lowered their weapons. 

“Well Daisy,” Natasha said pointedly, “if you knew where this cabin was and were able to get in without blowing the place up, you must be special to May. Only her and I know this place exists.”

Daisy lowered her eyes and clenched her jaw. “I had nowhere to go. She told me if I was ever in trouble to come here because no one knew about it.” Daisy looked up, “except you apparently.”

Natasha moved closer to her, “don’t worry, no one else knows about this place.” Natasha looked down at Daisy’s arm and somehow just noticed all of the cuts and scrapes littering the girl’s face and arms. “You know, there’s also a lot of medical supplies here. Will you let us patch you up?”

Daisy stared at Natasha skeptically for a few moments. She had been here for two days, trying to let her fractured arm heal for a few days before leaving again. She didn’t want to take a chance of May figuring out where she was and telling Coulson. But it was true that she hadn’t necessarily attended to any of her other injuries while laying low. 

Although Daisy had never met the avengers in front of her, she knew Natasha and May were friends and Coulson worshiped Steve Rogers, even if he was a current fugitive. She hadn’t heard much about the new guy but she felt like she could trust him too. She slowly looked back at Natasha and nodded her head. She didn’t think she deserved the help, but she figured that ignoring the Black Widow, fugitive or not, was not the best plan.

Natasha nodded her head, pleased that Daisy said yes. “Sam, why don’t you see if there is anything you can whip up in the kitchen for dinner? There should be plenty of non-perishables. Steve, will you go get the medical supplies from the back bathroom?” Natasha rattled off as she guided Daisy to the couch.

Both boys hurried off to complete their tasks. 

Natasha sat beside Daisy on the couch, “So I know you know who we all are but please feel free to call me Nat.” Daisy nodded, purposely looking at the floor.

They sat in silence until Steve returned with the medical supplies and handed them to Natasha before sitting in an armchair next to the couch.

Natasha started working on cleaning all of Daisy’s injuries. “So Daisy, want to tell us a little bit more about yourself or how you got these injuries?”

Daisy stiffened, “that’s none of your business.”

“True, but May and I agreed to tell no one about this place unless it was an emergency, not even Clint or Phil, so the fact that you’re here means you are special to her and I would like to know why.”

Daisy stilled, “she’s better off without me,” but her words lacked any bite.

Natasha nodded her head, knowing that feeling. “I doubt she thinks that but tell me why you believe that.”

Daisy sighed, “I should have never joined the team. Everywhere I go, death follows. It was better for everyone that I left before more people died.”

Natasha kept her face passive and began bandaging the wounds. She didn’t really need to hear anymore to piece together the rest of the story. She could feel the heartbreak and despair radiating off the girl in front of her and knew that whatever led her here was bad. Natasha also got the sense that the girl’s exile was equally self-preserving as it was self-sacrificial.

Natasha could see a lot of herself in the younger girl. She had only talked with Mel about her twice, but she knew her mentor cared about the girl sitting beside her and she was already seeing why.

“For the record, the people you care about are never better off without you, no matter how much of an awful person you think you are.” Natasha said a few minutes later as she finished wrapping Daisy’s arm and putting it in a brace. She could feel Steve’s eyes focused on the back of her head, but her attention was on Daisy who finally lifted her head, looking shocked.

“Dinner’s ready,” Sam said entering the room. “I was able to whip up some soup for all of us.”

Natasha guided Daisy to her feet as she stood up. “Go in with Steve and Sam to eat. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

Daisy looked reluctant but followed behind Steve and Sam who started telling her about one of their funnier missions prior to the Lagos incident. Natasha turned and walked towards the back bedrooms where a burner phone was hidden for purposes such as this. She grabbed it and dialed May’s latest personal number hoping it hadn’t changed.

“ _Hello_?” May answered in Mandarin.

“ _It’s me._ ” Natasha replied in Russian.

“Natasha,” May breathed a sigh of relief, “it’s good to know your alive. Are you safe?”

“For now.” Natasha sighed. “Listen, there’s a bigger reason why I’m risking this call. We may have encountered someone very important to you.”

The line went silent for a few moments. Natasha could hear May take a few deep breaths, hearing her thoughts racing. “ _Daisy_?” May finally whispered out in Mandarin.

“Mhmm” Natasha mumbled. 

Another moment of silence dripped by. “Is she okay?”

“Okay may be a stretch but she’s alive. I bandaged her up. I’m glad you told her about _the cabin_.”

May breathed a sigh of relief. “I know I probably shouldn’t have but now I’m glad I did. She’s just a kid who wasn’t prepared for the spy life. I needed to know she would have a safe place to go if things ever went south.”

“And I’m guessing things went really south?” Natasha speculated. 

“That’s one way of putting it.” May quipped. 

Natasha knew that despite May never showing too many emotions on the outside, that inside, she had a lot of empathy. There was something different in her voice now – grief, worry and love. Daisy meant more to May than she realized and Natasha was determined to help not only one of her longest friends but also the girl that she cared about a lot.

“She’s safe for now, but Mel, I think she needs time. She clearly went through something that shook her foundation.”

“I know,” May sighed, “but Nat, if you are still with her, please let her know that we will be waiting for her to come home when she is ready. We won’t abandon her.” 

Natasha heard nothing but love and conviction in May’s voice. She smirked. “I’ll do my best to pass your message along to your duckling,” May grumbled, “but I really need to go meet back up with Steve and Sam now. Take care Mel.”

“You too Nat.”

Natasha hung up and went to eat with everyone else.

An hour later, Daisy and Natasha were sitting back on the couch while Steve and Sam were at the opposite end of the room playing a video game.

“You know, I’ve known Melinda May a long time. For her to trust you with the information about this place must mean you are incredibly important to her.” Natasha saw Daisy’s shoulders stiffen. “I also know she is very worried about you.”

“I don’t need her worry,” Daisy said softly.

“The people who care about us will worry whether we want them to or not.”

Daisy fiddled with her hands, slowly rubbing her thumb and forefinger together. “I can’t go back,” she whispered not looking up.

“May understands that more than you are giving her credit for.”

Daisy paused but squared her shoulders slightly, “Bahrain.”

Natasha hummed in affirmation of the assumption. They sat silently for a few moments listening to their companions play.

“You should let her know you are okay.”

Fear flashed across Daisy’s eyes, “I can’t! I can’t let her know where I am!”

Natasha smirked, “Oh kid, she already knows exactly where you are and you haven’t seen any agents storming in yet have you?”

Daisy sighed, slumping back into the couch, “no.”

Natasha pulled the phone out of her back pocket. “Call her. It’s the only programmed number in there. Just let her hear your voice and know that you’re alive.”

Daisy stared at the burner phone. The abandoned foster child in her desperately screamed to grab the phone, to call the closest thing she’s ever had to a real mother and gain reassurance that everything would be okay. But still a part of her held a large level of fear and guilt. How did she know Natasha was telling the truth about May being worried? Or that she wouldn’t send agents after her? She couldn’t bring her mentor anymore pain.

The desire to hear May’s voice eventually won out though and she slowly reached out to grab the phone from Natasha. She looked up at her face and found Natasha smiling at her gently. 

“Take your time, we will be here when you’re done.”

Daisy nodded and stood up to go into the bedroom. She sat on the bed, staring at the phone, contemplating her decision for five minutes before finally dialing the number. Her hands were shaking and she felt too many emotions to decipher them.

“ _Nat_?” Daisy heard May say in Mandarin despite not knowing what it meant. A lump formed in her throat and she froze.

“Hello?” May asked again through the phone sounding concerned and curious.

Daisy’s eyes involuntarily filled with tears. She finally took a long, shuttered breath and heard May gasp softly. 

“ _Daisy_?” May whispered and this time Daisy recognized what May had said.

She tried to swallow the lump in her throat, “yeah, it’s me.”

May took a few seconds to breath and take in the fact that she was hearing the girl’s voice. She quickly moved somewhere more secluded where no one would hear the conversation. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m alive,” a pause, “Natasha patched me up.”

“Are you safe?”

“You know the answer to that.”

May breathed, “are you getting better?”

Daisy released a choked sob, “I need time.”

“I know, Dais. I know,” May reassured the girl. “But we will be waiting for you whenever you are ready to come home.”

The dam broke. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Daisy sobbed into the phone.

“I know hun. And I forgive you. We all forgive you.”

Daisy felt her heart crumbling again. She has felt nothing but pain and heart break for months. So much of her wanted to believe May, to run home. But she wasn’t ready. She wasn’t herself again yet. So even though it pained her, hearing May’s voice would have to be enough for now.

“I miss you,” she whisper cried into the phone.

“I miss you too kid. Take your time but please come back to me, to us in one piece.”

Daisy nodded her head despite May not being able to see her. 

An alarm blared in the background and May cursed under her breath. “I have to go Dais. You can trust Nat. Stay safe. I love you.”

Daisy sat holding the phone long after the phone call ended. She wanted to tell May she loved her too, but she couldn’t do it. She had never had a mentor or parent figure tell her they loved her before except for her psychotic parents and the sentiment felt weird and foreign to her. All she wanted growing up was to be loved, but now she didn’t feel worthy of love. Not after Lincoln, the last person who had loved her, died trying to save her.

Daisy cried. 

She cried for her child-self growing up without love. She cried for her mother who lost her sense of humanity. She cried for the pain she had caused her friends. She cried for disappointing May and Coulson. She cried for Lincoln. She cried for herself, letting some of her lifelong grief come tumbling out. 

Daisy wanted to go back home, to May and Coulson, but she wasn’t worth it yet. She wanted the pain to end. Daisy could only hope that doing some good and taking down the Watchdogs could clear some of her guilt and remind her why her life is worth so many others suffering.

Daisy had been so busy crying she hadn’t noticed Natasha open the door or move towards the bed until the older woman sat down beside her and rest her hand on Daisy’s shoulder.

Daisy stiffened and tried to dry her tears, “how long have you been there?”

“Long enough.”

Daisy nodded.

“Speaking as someone who was on Shield’s most wanted list and who has spent a lot of years trying to clean the red from her ledger, may I give you a piece of advice?”

Daisy didn’t move but Natasha took the silence as a cue to continue.

“That guilt and pain you feel never truly goes away,” Daisy’s heart sank a little deeper, “but, if you let yourself be surrounded by good people, who care about you, then it stops feeling all consuming.”

Daisy slowly lifted her head to look at Natasha. “Will it ever be enough?”

Natasha sighed at the girl’s desperate desire for hope, “I don’t know kiddo. I’m still working on myself remember?” Daisy nodded looking away again. “But, I will let you know if I ever have an answer.”

Daisy nodded again and hugged her legs tighter. 

“What I do know,” Natasha interrupted the silence a few seconds later, “is that you have people who care a lot about you and one day you will believe that so try your best to not die out there.”

Daisy nodded but otherwise didn’t say anything.

Natasha got up to grab the painkillers and water she had also brought in with her. “Take these and get some sleep. You look like you haven’t slept in weeks and if you’re going back out there on some type of vendetta, then you need to regain some strength.”

Daisy remained passive but took the painkillers and finished the glass of water.

Natasha moved to leave the room, “Goodnight Daisy.”

Daisy fell asleep thinking about what May and Natasha had said. She wasn’t currently in a place to be happy or see her family, but for the first time in months, she felt the bud of hope that one day she would have those things again.

The next morning, Natasha wasn’t surprised to find Daisy gone. She knew that the girl would have left before sunrise. However, she was glad to see that there was a scribbled ‘thank you’ under her note by the door wishing Daisy safe travels and to find her if she was ever in trouble.

Natasha knew the girl had a long way to go before her healing could begin, but she also knew that Daisy was in good hands. She also had a feeling that both parties involved needed that phone call last night. Daisy needed to know that people believed in her and that things would get better eventually which is what Natasha had tried to accomplish. She just hoped it would be enough to motivate Daisy through her grief to find her way home again. 

“Do you think she’ll be okay?” Steve asked walking up behind Natasha.

Natasha smiled gently, “Eventually”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I will admit that I was kind of nervous to post this story because it was out of my comfort zone but I love it a lot. Daisy, Natasha, and Melinda are probably my three favorite Marvel characters so I really enjoyed writing them interacting with each other.
> 
> I also love Steve and Sam and meant to include more of them but it just didn't flow in this story. I hope you enjoyed it though and let me know what you think!


End file.
